


I'd Build An Elevator for You

by spattergroit



Series: Save the Girl, Save the World [3]
Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Broken Limbs, F/F, Fluff, holtzmann building things, toltzmann
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-16 22:37:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8120191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spattergroit/pseuds/spattergroit
Summary: After Patty and Holtzmann's run in with a demon, Patty spends her time ailing a broken leg while the other ladies go off on missions.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to my lovely friend [cassiopeiasara](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiopeiasara/profile) for being the best beta and friend a girl could ask for!

The doctor told Patty that she would have a little over three more weeks before the cast come off. Since she landed in such an odd position and had broken her tibia, she was out of commission for two months.

And that was just from doing the regular activity she was used to. Dr. Keith, a doctor that oddly enough reminded Patty of her own mother with dark brown curls and eyes as dark as the night sky, told her that she wouldn't be 'busting for months.

The idea of that irked her but not to the point that she felt like she should hide or even consider herself useless. For now, things seemed to be just fine with the team when they did go on missions, though it did make the load a lot harder on Erin and Abby when it was especially rough. Occasionally, Holtzmann would also join them putting all the equipment on one of her small shoulders to tag along. Patty was pretty sure that couldn't be any better but they had to make do for now. Using Kevin was about the same as using the homeless dog they'd taken to feeding whenever he showed up outside the firehouse.

The subject of hiring Ghostbusters-in-Training to fill in for the days they weren't able to bust also came up but there was never time to fully commit to that idea.

Today, Patty sat on the first floor at her makeshift work station with her eyes glued to the computer screen. They darted from left to right as she read up on Erin and Abby's theories about ghosts coming back from the Beyond, other various ley lines, and Abby's own testimonial about her experience being pulled inside. Death hadn't scared Patty, not since she'd lost her own mother at a young age and an aunt introduced her to Sigmund Freud and his theories on death, so the read was interesting at most.

"Hey, Patty! I have a question."

Kevin seemed to feel sorry for her. Which definitely made Patty determined to not mope about her current situation. While Erin, Holtzmann, and Abby were all out checking out a loft in Midtown that apparently featured the bitter spirit of a should-have-been movie star, he kept coming in to ask Patty's opinions on hide-and-seek outfits.

Patty considered herself a very open and warm person so each time Kevin interrupted her she gave him honest and genuine opinions on each piece. But after the fifth change, her patience had worn completely thin.

Especially now.

Donned in a Pikachu onesie with the hoodie included, Kevin came traipsing back into the office area of the firehouse and did a dancer's spin, ending with his arms in the air and smile bright.

"What about this?"

Patty took her time, pulling her eyes away from the screen and her mouth parted slightly when she caught sight of him fully.

His smile fell at the same time as his arms and he looked down, "You hate it."

Had he been three years old, this would have been adorable.

But he was _thirty-three_ years old.

"Kevin, sweetie-" Patty put a hand up and closed her eyes. She took one long inhale and released it slowly. "Just. Wear. _Black_."

Kevin watched her for a moment and then it was almost like she could see the light bulb forming on top of his head.

"You're absolutely right!" He waggled a finger at her.

Just as he turned around to head back to the front, the doors opened and conversation immediately followed. The ladies were finally back and now she could have another distraction besides Kevin. They met him on his way to the front and their way to the back. Holtzmann gave him a long once-over while Abby simply stared. It was Erin that had the best reaction though.

"I have that in pink!" She exclaimed.

Kevin smiled and nodded at her then headed back to the front.

Abby was already throwing the irked expression her way. Guilt was making Erin’s cheeks change to a crimson color. Her eyes went wide and she looked affronted, "What?! They're comfortable!"

"How was it?" Patty asked, not bothering with the computer. She was glad they were back, she was sure her eyes would literally just fall from their sockets and roll onto the desk if she kept staring at the screen. "How bitter was he?"

"First of all," Abby held up a hand, "bitter is not the word."

She went into a very colorful tale about how the ghost actually introduced himself to them and absolutely refused to leave. They'd even tried bargaining with him, stating that they were sure there was casting call studios littered everywhere in the beyond. Eventually, the ghost was busted but honestly, it was mostly because he wouldn't leave and kept pointing out how important he was.

"Patty, what do you know about that building?" Erin's uniform was covered in ectoplasm and she was already unzipping.

When Patty opened her mouth to give her the small bit of information she knew, Abby let out a sound of protest.

"Erin, absolutely not!" She pointed to the back hall where they'd built their changing rooms and shower. Erin didn't even fight it, she stopped mid-zip and walked to the back in ashamed silence.

Patty laughed, “If I were Erin, I’d strip down here, too. Look at all that ectoplasm she’s covered in.”

“Exactly!” Erin shouted from the back before a door slammed.

"And I'm gonna go and do the same." Abby held out her arms and walked to the back shaking her head.

Patty turned her attention to Holtzmann, who was looking at her through the yellow tinted goggles with a smile.

"Shouldn't you be ..." Patty motioned towards the changing rooms. Holtzmann dropped her duffel bag of equipment and straddled the back of an office chair and rolled her way over to Patty. The same arm she'd fractured in Michigan was used to prop on the chair with her elbow sitting on the top, chin resting on her balled fist. Patty was jealous that she'd healed in exactly three weeks but Holtzmann wasn't exactly using her arm out on missions either. She'd become a glorified weapons assistant until the doctor gave her the okay but Patty was confident that she was probably not following doctor's orders.

"But I haven't asked you how your day has gone?" Holtzmann smiled at her.

Patty reached a long arm over while Holtzmann stayed completely still. Her hand reached behind her ear and she lifted the hook of her goggles from behind her ear with ease and laughed when it dangled dangerously from her chin.

"Thanks, Pats." She pulled them off and sat them down on the desk.

"You're not out there holding protons and firing them at ghosts, are you?" Patty gave Holtzmann her sternest look. Holtzmann gave a mumbled no but Patty was sure she was lying. She quickly changed the subject though.

"But you didn't answer my question," she continued.

Patty looked around at the desk and puffed out her lips. She wasn't sure what to say. She didn't like complaining about her broken leg. Besides, she'd filled her status quo of broken leg complaints for the week. Abby had said so.

"That ghost was a real asshole anyway," Holtzmann stated casually. "I mean, he had these weirdly large hands and every time we tried to talk to him he would put them up in the air like he was telling us to shut up!" Then Holtzmann mimicked him with a really stupid expression on her face.

Patty laughed.

"I kept ducking each time he waved them through the air," Now Holtzmann was trying to get a laugh out of her. And it was working.

"You know what I never thought about?" Patty looked up to the second floor, "I never thought about something like this happening. You know? Now I can't get upstairs to the second floor without crutches and it takes me a good hour to get from the bottom stair to the top stair. Why don't we have something to fix that?"

"You mean like an elevator."

"That's exactly what I mean," Patty replied dryly.

"You know, I could make you one. It would take me about three days tops. And that's if I choose not to sleep." Holtzmann put a finger to her lips and tapped it. "I'm sure I could create a good enough hydraulic cylinder if I dive hard enough. Kevin is going to need to push all this out of the way though!" She had jumped up from the chair and walked over to the lockers where they stored their proton packs and uniforms.

Patty watched her in amazed silence and then she held her hands up and shook her head laughing.

"Holtzy-baby, you don't need to do that!" She laughed even harder when Holtzmann turned to look at her with a bewildered, wide-eyed look.

"You mean, you don't want me to build an elevator for you?"

Patty stopped laughing and her expression softened.

"That's mighty sweet of you and trust me it would be appreciated but we can't afford it and I'll be healed up in a few weeks. I'm determined."

Holtzmann nodded and walked over to lean on the desk. She crossed one leg over the over and put her hand on her hip.

"A few weeks? Let's make the challenge three weeks."

"And what do I get if I heal in three weeks?"

"I'll take you dancing."

Patty thought about Holtzmann's dancing antics to Hall & Oates and the imagery was just so beautiful she couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"I'll heal in three and wear heels when we go out."

"Good because I love a tall- _er_ woman! In fact, I'm not gonna climb you like a tree, I'm gonna conquer you like a mountain!"

Patty's chin leaned back and her eyebrows perked.

"My dancing skills are un _matched_." Holtzmann seemed completely oblivious to her previous comment. Or maybe she really was just flirting with Patty because it was fun. At this point, Patty wasn't even sure.

Holtzmann continued on, "Besides, it's lonely up there without you. Who else knows all the words to _Pleasure Principle_? In fact, who else knows Janet Jackson's entire discography besides you? When I worked at Kenneth T. Higgins with Abby, I thought she was gonna' Sarah Mclachlan me to death."

Patty couldn't help but laugh. Holtzmann gave a pretty good rendition of _I Will Remember Yo_ u, with great arm movements and all.

After the laughter died down, Holtzmann's expression sobered.

"I'm sorry about your leg, Patty. I really am. I wasn't thinking. I just kept telling myself I needed to grab you."

"I told you to stop apologizing, baby!" Patty laughed.

She was pretty sure Holtzmann apologized every single day.

"You saved my life. I'd be stuck lord knows where with a Serpentulus if it weren't for you."

"And nobody's allowed to carry you off except for me."

"I'd love to see you try!" Patty teased.

"That sounds like a challenge," Holtzmann leaned in close to Patty and tossed her signature wink.

"I'm calling your bluff," Patty replied.

Holtzmann seemed to be on a roll now because she moved even closer.

"Patty I was going to build an elevator for you. Don't challenge a woman that likes challenges."

And because she was Jillian Holtzmann, she turned her head to the right and frowned. She turned back to Patty and narrowed her eyes, "Did that costume on Kevin look kinda' small to you? Do you think he's been raiding my locker?"

Patty tilted her head to the side and then waved her hand, "Goodbye, Holtzy. We are done."

She was laughing when Holtzmann pulled back and unzipped her own jumper, heading to the back to change. Patty opened her laptop but she looked up in the direction of the aisle where Holtzmann had just walked through.

Was she seriously going to build an elevator for her?

**Author's Note:**

> Of course she would, Patty! The next entry into the series will be just as Holtzmann promised - DANCING!


End file.
